Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Real Deal from the Realist

I think it’s about time you hear from the realist in the family ; )Yes, that’s the mother of this wild clan.I’m here to give you the real deal about daily life in Honduras.Lest we mistakenly lead you to believe we are on a 3 month vacation!No need to buckle up it will be a slow ride!

Family worship – as always it’s the first and last business of the day.We’ve been enjoying a little extra study and longer reading times

Meals – The family is ravenous!I’m not sure what is going on since we are not doing the strenuous farm labor but even Kirsten is hungry morning, noon and night – imagine the boys!When going to a little store next door to our house I tried to explain that my boys like lots of bananas, they got me 100 large ones and a week later they are gone!The children and I share around the cooking so it isn’t a burden on anyone. Tortillas with some kind of stuffing are the daily fare.The beans are filthy!The rice is white – the kids are enjoying that change : )

Laundry –You’ll be hearing more about the pila later.Let’s just say we all have a renewed appreciation for the washing machine : ).

School – Every morning!Fewer distractions make it easier to progress.Jonathan is trying to wrap up the majority of his high school requirements while we are here.Kirsten is loving the freedom of being finished but enjoying some further education of her choosing.(Yes Grandpa, she is working on Anatomy and Physiology and looking forward to sitting at your feet when we get home.) Joshua, Zack and Caleb are motivated to get the work done especially when a trip to the falls is the reward.

Work – No matter where we are our hearts and hands are in the soil.Most afternoons we head up to the mission to help them in their gardens.John’s main goal is to teach them to make a healthy compost pile.He and the children were up there last night and when they came home they smelled dreadful!! Almost as bad as rotten potatoes!Hastily washing there suspicions were confirmed – they still stunk! Today John, Joshua and Caleb are at a nearby orphanage trying to help them with their compost pile…We will ride the buss into town and meet him…We’re all a little concerned about the attention we may draw on the ride home : }Could be embarrassing!

working in the garden

Joshua helping with their new "greenhouse" project

Writing projects – John usually spends his mornings working on various goals.I squeeze in a few hours a week and the Lord is blessing my efforts.

Family time– Reading together is a favorite pastime and beyond that just having time to talk, dream and plan together is great.

Serving ~ No matter where we are we are called to serve and there is no end to the needs here.The church is a short walk from our house so when the doors are open we are there:Wednesday evening, Friday evening, Sabbath morning and Sabbath evening.John has preached and I have shared for two Friday evening vespers.One of the greatest needs is to be awakened to the reality that the cultural practices relating to family are not God’s plan.For most there is no commitment just living together until they weary and moving on.Just being a family and sitting together in church is counter cultural!

Yesterday I spent part of the morning, at a church member’s home, learning how to make tortilla’s the Honduran way.When we finished a huge stack we walked the ½ mile to our house and she and three of her children joined us for lunch.The conversation dragged as we struggled to understand them and they us, but we persevered.Please pray that we can get a better grasp of the language.

So there you have it ~ the real deal about daily life from the fingers of the realist!